Dark Days
by Diana Belmont
Summary: Picking up where S2 finale left off...careful for spoilers if you haven't seen the episode
1. Chapter 1

So this is my imagining of what happens immediately after the S2 finale...chapter one, more to come...also my first post so would appreciate all reviews and feedback. BTW, I am a shipper, mostly Lee/Kara, but am trying in this story to stay true to my vision of what happens after Lay Down Your Burdens, part 2...

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from _Battlestar Galactica_.

Dark Days

Chapter One

Kara had left Cally and Tyrol watching the toaster parade in a panic, as the chilling thought of ailing Anders lying alone in their tent flew into her mind. Sprinting back, she tried to take stock. The phone had gone dead in her hands during her brief conversation with Apollo, but what she had heard in the background had been enough to fill her with a dark foreboding. The military in her, dusty from dormancy but still very much alive, knew that the options were limited for the orbit patrol. Surrender, fight, or run. She would have fought...but she was here on this frakkin frozen-mud planet, and her input didn't seem to pull much weight these days anyhow. There were no signs of battle within the atmosphere, and she had not heard any talk of it on the planet...she let herself hope that the calvary was at work above her..maybe..just maybe... The Adamas would not have surrendered...despite the distance between her and them that had grown over the past year, she was certain of this fundamental truth. No, her instincts took her to a much more terrifying place. They were gone, they ran. It was the only tactical decision that made sense, the only one they could have made. The Old Man had made this decision before, during the initial Cylon attack, given the circumstances, the depletion of the fleet and the crews, he would have made it again, better to run and live than to stay and die. She knew instinctively that Lee would have made this decision as well...his sense of duty and responsibility would have demanded it.

They ran. Jumped away. Kara needed no sign from the Gods to know that this was the case. Pausing for a moment, she looked to the sky... and felt it empty in a way that it had never been before. Lee was gone. And she was scared, the weight of what was happening falling hard upon her in that moment. New Caprica was on its own, at least for now.

Kara pulled back the fabric of the tent door, heart and mind racing, grasping for a thread of sanity in the chaos that had become New Caprica City. It was all coming down around her now: Sam being so sick, frakkin Cylons coming out of nowhere, and this overwhelming feeling of helplessness. In the months after the initial Cylon attack she had played a vital role, finding both comfort and a feeling of usefulness in the cockpit of a Viper. There she had means to fight, now she couldn't shake the icy hand of fear that gripped her, her feet planted uselessly on this planet and no gun in sight.

"Sam, baby, you gotta get up now, we have to..." Kara started as she enters..then stopped in her tracks as she surveyed the scene before her.

It took her only a moment to take in the scene in the small tent: the cot overturned, blankets strewn on the ground. But the most important thing about the tent was not what was there, but rather who was not. The tent was empty, Sam was gone.

"GODS DAMN IT!"

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William Adama stared at the Dradis screen in front of him, the specks that were what was left of the fleet flashing on the otherwise empty screen. Silence had descended in Galactica's CIC, as the small crew watched him and waited for some sign of what to do next. In the hours that had passed since the jump, very little had been said. There wasn't much that could be said really, and Adama wasn't one to talk just to hear his own voice. He had ordered all ships to compile resource reports, he needed to know exactly who and what he had to work with.

Helo turned towards him from the communications console, "Sir, the Pegasus Raptor has landed. Commander Adama is on his way to CIC now."

"Fine. I need you to contact the fleet Captains. Tell them to hold positions but give them the next set of jump coordinates...we need to be ready to go at the first sign of the Cylons."

"Yes Sir!"

Apollo, walking with purpose, strides into the room and heads straight for Adama. All protocol gone, the two men embraced quickly, "Good to see you son," Adama whispered.

"You too, Sir." Apollo saluted the Admiral as he stepped back, military hat back on for the moment. He had never fully reconciled the dual role that his father played in his life, as his father and as his commanding officer. With all that had happened since the initial Cylon attack, the distinction between the roles had become increasingly blurred. Now, for the most part, Lee was relieved that they were still together, albeit separated from almost everybody else. Tossing down the file he carried with him, he sighed "that's the most recent list of assets from the Pegasus. It isn't much. One rotation of viper pilots and a severely crippled hangar crew. Our chief left hours before the jump on shore leave to New Caprica, along with half of the pilots. Didn't see any reason in keeping them on board at the time, frak it! Damn short sighted!"

"None of us saw it coming, Lee. Tigh left too, probably on the same transport as your chief. Galactica has a full supply of life support rations and fuel for now, I'm still waiting on the reports from the rest of the fleet." Adama ran his hand over his eyes, trying to wipe away the events of the last few hours. "Once we take stock I want you in my office, we need a workable plan, and we need it now."

Lee's eyes flickered over his father's face. He had been thinking of nothing else since the jump except what the next step was going to be. Like Galactica, he had kept the Pegasus fully stocked, holding back food rations, medicines and supplies from officers that had chosen life on the planet over life with the fleet. Thank the Gods for that at least. It had been the one battle he and his father had won with President Baltar, when Baltar had wanted to raid the ships for supplies to give to the settlers. William Adama had been fierce, and Baltar had stood down when presented with the worst case scenarios stating, "ah, well, we can discuss this later then. Know this, though, when it becomes absolutely necessary to do so, those supplies will be rerouted." But later had never come, which was good for the fleet now.

Helo suddenly stepped forwards, face twitching. He faced William Adama, "Sir, I think I have an idea, or at least the beginning of one."

Adama considered the man for a moment, his expression unreadable. Helo had remained on the Galactica for one reason and one reason only. Adama knew it, everyone knew it. He had stayed for Sharon Valerii. "Very well, Helo. You and Apollo in my office in 15 mins."

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The crowd was gathered outside of Colonial One, pressed together from all sides by the metallic Cyclon Centurions. No shots had been fired, but their presence and their sheer numbers was threat enough for the settlers. One by one the settlers of New Caprica City had been gathered together in this place, brought here in silence, and now they waited fearfully. Each minute that passed seemed to raise the tension, occasional sobbing could be heard from the crowd.

Kara searched the faces in the crowd, looking for Anders, looking for anyone at this point. Pushing her way through the throng, she spotted Tigh. "Colonel, have you seen Sam?" she asked breathlessly, grabbing his shirt. "He wasn't in the frakkin tent when I went back for him."

Tigh put his arm around Kara's shoulder. Gods he looked old all of a sudden, his shoulders were slumped and his face pale. "Sorry Starbuck, I haven't. Damn toasters won't let us leave the area, either. Ellen and I tried to get back to the transport, but they wouldn't let us get anywhere close to the ships. I was going to try and take it back up to Galactica once the majority of the raiders had landed."

"Galactica is gone. They are all gone." Starbuck's lip quivered for just a moment, her eyes welling up. She pushed through it, "Looks like you are stuck with me, Sir, I'm all the rescue you are going to get!" A grim smirk crept across her face.

"Gods, its like the Cylons really are turning my worst nightmare into reality..." Tigh was more serious than not. Then quietly he added, "You don't know for sure they are gone..."

Kara nodded her head, "They are. They either bought it trying to fight through the frakkers or they jumped away. My money is on the jump."

"She's right," a voice came from behind the pair. They turned to see Gaeta, looking drawn and defeated. "The last thing we heard from the fleet was the Admiral giving the order for jump. Dradis is murky, but from what we can see, there's only Cylons up there now."

"Gods, Gaeta, what the frak is going on?" Tigh hissed.

"The Cylons are about to make an announcement, they kicked all the humans off of Colonial one, except President Baltar. There is something you need to know, and I'm sure that is what the announcement is going to be about. The President surrendered. The Cylons have promised nobody will be hurt if we do not resist them, so he surrendered. It is over, they win." Gaeta kicked at the frozen dirt.

Kara spun on him, muscles tight, throat tighter. "Of course he surrendered," she said, very quietly, anger laced through each word, "spineless moron always was jumping at his own shadow, figures he'd sell us all out." She remembered how he had skulked around after her, after their brief sexual encounter. She had quickly realized he was no match for her, and he had never been able to regain her respect. "Gaeta, have you seen Anders? He's sick, and I haven't been able to find him since all this started..."

"Sorry Starbuck, I haven't."

All attention was suddenly drawn towards Colonial One. A makeshift platform had been set up outside the ship, and Kara watched as a line of Cylons filed out of the ship and onto the platform. A Sharon and one of the Blondes stopped at the front of the platform, turning towards the crowd. From the front of the crowd, they were joined by a number of the metallics, who formed an intimidating line behind them. The President was then led from the ship to the platform, accompanied by one of the Doral models. Kara shuddered, knowing what was coming next.

Gaius Baltar came to the front of the platform, clearing his throat and spoke, his voice carrying in the chilled air, but still not reaching those further back in the crowd, "Citizens of New Caprica, As your lawfully elected President it is my duty to inform you that I have just issued an unconditional and total surrender to the Cylon leaders." Gasps and a flurry of commotion arose in the crowd, as this information was shared with those out of earshot. "Quiet, please" Gaius commanded. "You need to know that the option for a peaceful surrender was gratiously given to us by the Cylons. They have promised me that nobody will be harmed so long as they do not show any resistance. You also need to understand that our fleet has abandoned us, having jumped away at the first sign of the Cylon ships. We are alone, defenseless. The Cylons did not have to give us the option of a peaceful surrender, they could have wiped us out, but they did not. They have assured me that they are here in the spirit of peace and do not want to see conflict arise. We are quite safe, so long as we do not attack or resist them.

"I am to remain your leader, and will act on your behalf in communicating with the Cylon leaders. As such I am issuing an immediate presidential order that all citizens of New Caprica will refrain from entering into conflict with any Cylon. Furthermore, all citizens are to remain within the confines of the city. Visible boundaries are being set up around the city, and will be patrolled by Cylon guards. Severe punishment will be dealt to anyone who tries to cross this line. Until further arrangements can be made, we will continue with the day to day running of this city. People, we should be grateful for our lives, for the chance to continue with our work here on New Caprica. The Cylons have decided to give us the chance to live with them, to show them that humanity deserves to survive. I for one thank them for this opportunity." He turned and gave a slight bow to the females at his side.

The Sharon Valerii model stepped forward and spoke forcefully, "You are to return to your homes, and remain within the city limits while the boundaries are being erected. The punishment for crossing the boundary will be death. As long as you are within the city, and as long as order is maintained, you are safe. We will be conferring with your President over the next few days to compile a list of laws. When these are completed, you will be informed and you will follow them without question. As long as you cooperate, you will be safe, and will be allowed to continue on with your lives as though nothing has changed." With that the group on the platform turned and filed down, leading Gaius back onto Colonial One.

The crowd stood, stunned and hushed. Kara turned to Tigh, the muscles in her face twitching, "Like 'nothing has changed', yeah right."

Tigh put his hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Go home for now Kara, wait for Sam to come back. I know you and I know you're itching for a fight right now, but we have to maintain order..."

"Colonel..." Kara started, rage in her voice, "we have to do something, we can't just sit here and take this crap..."

"Starbuck, we will maintain order!" Tigh got quiet for a moment, then pulled her in tight for a hug, whispering in her ear as he did so, "for now."


	2. Chapter 2

Dark Days

Chapter Two

"Natasi?" Gaius whispered, finally alone with the striking blond that had haunted his thoughts. "is it...are you really, I mean are you my...?" He stared at her, unable to tear his eyes away even for a moment. He had thought her to be in his head when the Cylons walked through his door, but then she had spoken. She was real, flesh and blood, tangible, but was she his Six? He sank down onto the sofa, head and heart pounding in unison. So much had happened today, was still happening today, and he needed to wrap his mind around it, take a moment to decide how he felt about it. But he needed to find out about her, first.

"Hush, Gaius. We have a lot to talk about, and we have plenty of time to do it, no need to rush." CapricaSix gave him a hesitant, yet still seductive, smile. "Actually, I have a lot to thank you for, as well. You have helped us in more ways than even you realize. We had anticipated some initial resistance, from your military and from your President. Imagine my surprise, and relief, to find that the President is you. I am called Caprica now, Gaius. The others like me are called Six, but I am Caprica, and you may call me that."

Gaius studied Caprica's face, trying to read her thoughts. "You said that you knew me, Caprica...is that only because you know about the copy that was with me back on the real Caprica, or do you have memories of me from that time?" He watched her as she slowly circled his desk, what had been his desk, and sat in his chair. She smiled again, and he flashed for a moment on the vision of her he had seen that morning, sitting in that same chair, smiling that same smile. He had seen less and less of her in the months following the election, though she had not left him entirely. She had come to him mainly in the times that he felt most vulnerable in his position as President, during those times that he began to question the decisions he had made. She would come then, and whisper in his ear, rub his neck or his shoulders and reiterate that he was exactly where he was supposed to be...that the people were exactly where they were supposed to be. Enigmatic as always, she never gave him the details he begged for about why they were there, what the plan was for them. "God has a plan for you, Gaius, that is all you need to know." That had become her patent answer.

"I remember you Gaius, I know you." Caprica leaned back in the chair, eyes locked with his.

"Yes, but are you her? When I met you...I mean Gina, the Six copy on the Pegasus, she didn't know me, she didn't remember me from before, not the way that the Sharon Valerii from Caprica remembered Boomer's life. How does it work? Do you share collective memories?" Gaius knew that there were so many other pressing matters that he should be asking her about, but he could not get past the look of recognition he had seen in her eyes. He had been so desperate for her, for a flesh and blood version of her, for so long now, and now here she was.

Caprica's smile faded, and a far away look came into her eyes. "Why, Gaius? Would it make a difference to you if I told you I was her. Your number Six?" He gave her an almost imperceptible nod, and she continued, her voice quiet, "I remember you Gaius. When she died her memories were absorbed, became accessible to all active Cylon Sixes ... but her consciousness, her feelings, her soul...yes, Gaius, her soul was downloaded into this body. I remember you not only because I can access the memories, but because I was there with you. Do you see the difference, what sets me apart from the others?"

He did.

"I loved you then, Gaius, I still love you now...it is partly because of you that the Cylons retreated from the colonies, because of your influence on me, the way you stayed in my head during those long months after I downloaded. My love for you changed me, changed what I wanted and helped me to change the course of what we, the Cylons, wanted. God put us together for that reason, I know that now. And he has brought us back together for a reason, too. It is not a coincidence that we have found each other again." She paused, watching his face for a reaction. " Did you love me then, Gaius? Do you love me?"

Gaius watched her as she stood up from behind the desk, slowly walking towards him. He was lost, he felt it, felt the bottom dropping out of his world. She had been a part of him for so long now, in his head, in his dreams, in his life. He had forgotten what it was like to touch her. Touching Gina should have been the same, but it was not, it had just felt wrong. Now here she was, Caprica, bright and golden and real. His Caprica. Love? Did he have an answer for her this time? "Yes...yes I love you. You asked me that before, on Caprica...I didn't understand it then, but you are a part of me now. I can't help loving you." Tears began running down his face, his breath catching in his throat as she sank down beside him on the sofa.

Caprica's eyes softened, "I thought you were dead Gaius, thought you had died and would never say those words to me." A smile flashed in her eyes as she leaned towards him, her lips brushing his, gently at first. "I have you back now, and we have so much to catch up on..."

The kiss deepened, and Caprica's hands slid down Gaius' shirt, opening it slowly. He let himself go in that kiss, but in the moments before he lost himself completely, a cold chill ran down his spine and he wondered what exactly he had gotten himself, and New Caprica, into. As her hands explored his body further, though, catching up on missed time, he pushed the doubt from his mind and gave into their love. Reaching one hand up to her golden hair, he reached the other around her waist and pulled her against him, and he was gone.

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"It will work, I know it will!" Helo clenched his fists. "Listen, I know you will never fully trust Sharon, but she really is our best and only option at this point. She is the only one that can pull this off, for more reasons than one!"

Adama sat behind his desk, holding his head in his hands. He looked up at Helo, then over to Apollo. They had been in the office for hours, banging heads over what the best next course of action would be. Actually, all three men were pretty much on the same page about certain aspects of their plan, but they kept running into this one, big snag. Sharon. Try as he might, Adama was having trouble getting past his gut feeling that she would betray them again. And to put so much of what little they had in her hands, at her mercy...it was too much to ask. "How do we know she will even agree to this, Helo? She has barely spoken to you in the past year, let alone the rest of us. How can I justify trusting her now when she has no good reason to help us? The baby is gone, she has shut you out and as far as I can tell her will to live is as good as gone as well."

"Let me at least try and talk to her, Sir. I know in my heart that she can do this, that she will do this." Helo's face was intense, his trust in Sharon had not waivered. It had been a year since Hera had died, since she had shut him out of her life, but he still visited her daily, talked to her and stayed with her. Some days she responded, some days she did not. He was determined to stay true to her, to show her that his love had not waivered. In his heart he felt that hers had not waivered either, but was being blocked by the circumstances. She had lived in that small cell for so long...hell, anyone would disconnect in that same situation.

Lee shifted in his seat, his father looked over to him. "What do you think, son?"

Lee sat quietly for a few moments. "It has the makings of a good plan, Sir. It could work if..." If. So much hung on the Cylon. He smiled suddenly, feeling nostalgic, "you know who could have made this work...Starbuck. Gods if we still had her..." his smile faded again. His father caught his eye and nodded his agreement. Lee continued, "If we do this, we can't send Sharon alone. That would be non-negotiable. We'd need to send our best pilot with her, someone who could take up the mission if she fraks it up."

Adama looked him dead in the eye, "Our best pilot is not available. Period."

"You need me on this, Sir. Kat is good, but she doesn't have enough experience for this yet. She can take my place here with the Pegasus, she has been following me around enough over the past 6 months to know what to do. If this mission is going forward, then I'm going to be on it, and if we are going to make it work, we have to go now, while we still have the advantage."

Adama let out a long, slow breath. "Advantage? That remains to be seen. Let's go over this again, I want all the details in place before Helo talks to the Cylon."

They had quickly taken stock of their assets, the cylon Heavy Raider among them, capable of carrying passengers and making long jumps. They would pool the resources of the remaining fleet, concentrating them on Galactica and Pegasus. All the resources, people included. They would jump the fleet once more to a new location, and leave it there, taking all that they could carry on the Battlestars. None of the men wanted to lose the ships, but if this plan was going to work, if they were going to survive at all, then they couldn't spread their people out. They could hold out the hope of jumping back if and when this ordeal passed and retrieving the empty vessels. If they failed, they wouldn't need the ships.

Sharon was the key. They didn't know what was happening on New Caprica, all they knew was that the Cylons were there. Sharon was a Cylon, and they could send her back in a Cylon ship. Sharon could land in New Caprica City and walk around and she would fit in. Nobody else in the fleet had that advantage. For anyone else this could end up being a suicide mission. They needed recon, and she could provide this.

They would send her back to gather as much information as she could, take pictures, take stock. Then she could jump to a designated set of coordinates to rendezvous with the Battlestars. They didn't have to tell her where they were leaving the ships. If she betrayed them, they weren't risking the entire fleet, just the raider...and now Lee. Lee was their guarantee that she would come back, and if she didn't then he had the best chance of piloting the raider back on his own. He was right, Starbuck would have been a better choice, but he could do it, if he had to. It wasn't a rescue mission, not yet, if there was even anyone left to rescue, but they all held out hope that they might be able to round up some of the crew that had been left on the planet. Preferably the pilots.

Finally, Adama looked up again, determination fueling his next words. "Helo, go get the Cylon. Bring her here, I want to see her face when you talk to her. Lee, go to the hanger and have the crew prep the raider. Then you are to go to my quarters and sleep. I'll have a meal ready for you when you wake up. You are going to need it. And yes, that is an order."


	3. Chapter 3

Dark Days

Chapter Three

The small tent was quickly becoming overcrowded. While Kara did appreciate the warmth that the proximity of the extra bodies was providing, she wished they would all just shut up for 10 seconds and let her think for a frakkin minute. When Tigh and Ellen had shown up at her tent earlier that evening, she had been grateful for the company. She was not a sit around and wait kind of girl, and that was the only option being presented at this time. Tyrol and Cally had not been far behind them, Gaeta in tow. A few minutes ago, Hot Dog , Racetrack and a few of the other nuggets had strolled in as well...nuggets no longer, Kara realized with a start...in this new reality they were seasoned pros. Not that any of it mattered, as they were all stuck on New Caprica, just like her.

Kara had left the assembly earlier that day and had searched for Sam, to no avail. She had checked back at the tent repeatedly but he did not show up there either. She had checked with all of their friends, had stopped at the make shift hospital, but it was like he had just disappeared. Vanished. Nobody had seen him since before the Cylon arrival, and Kara had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Now she needed time to gather her thoughts and think of a plan. That was the topic of conversation in the tent now. Finding a plan. They had all seen the barriers going up around the city. Not even barriers really, more like metal pylons being placed like fence posts encircling the city. The metallics walked the line of the barrier, and although it seemed like a much lighter patrol than they had expected, it would still be hard to evade. There were no trees, no cover, just open space. At any given moment you could be spotted by any number of Cylons on the patrol. Then again, Kara thought, there was no real need for them to patrol the border. There was no place to run to. Just a big wide open nothingness.

Tigh was speaking. Kara watched him with interest, thinking how quickly things changed. A year and a half ago, if you had asked her if Tigh could ever be a good leader, she would have laughed hysterically. Frakkin drunk leading anyone anywhere but to a bar...doubtful. But the past year had changed everyone, Tigh for the better. The grudging respect they had begun to develop for each other had grown, and when Kara had announced she was leaving the fleet 6 months ago, Tigh had been her only supporter. Not because he wanted her gone, either, but because he alone seemed to understand her need to be with her husband. The presidential order to colonize had forced all civilians off the ships, regardless of their marital status. Her choice had been to stay and be separated from him, or go and be grounded. It had been an agonizing decision, but she had not regretted it...until today.

Lee had taken her leaving harder than she had expected. The Old Man had been unhappy to lose his best pilot, and had lobbied for her to stay, but Lee had taken the defection personally. Their relationship had already been strained, because of Anders, because of her behaviour the day they had returned from Caprica, and because of Dualla. Lee had pulled back from their friendship, spending more and more of his spare time with Dee, and seemingly avoiding Kara at all costs. But when he had found out she was leaving he had flown into her, literally. He called her a traitor, a quitter. He had mocked her for becoming a 'good little wife', and she had snapped. They had both said things that day that could not be taken back. And when she packed up and left, he had turned his back on her, refusing to say goodbye, refusing to acknowledge her at all. She knew leaving the fleet was something Lee viewed as a betrayal of all that they had been through together. Gods, if she could just have one minute with Lee right now, a moment to make everything OK again, to apologize and tell him how she felt, how much he meant to her. He was her family, and she had left him behind.

She felt so useless here in the tent. All of the ideas being thrown around were crap. There was nothing they could do, not from this position. They had no real weapons, no back up. Sure they had trained military personnel., but they were more than outnumbered, they were overrun. Now someone was suggesting sneaking on board Colonial One and assassinating the cylon "leaders".

Tigh shook his head, "Wouldn't work. Even if we could get on board, and even if we could get to the frakkers, we have no follow through, no fall back position. Two, maybe three Cylons would be dead, but thousands more would simply be waiting for us outside. It would only make things worse for us at this point. We have to sit tight, I know it is hard, but Admiral Adama is out there somewhere, and he will make a move. We have to organize ourselves and watch for it. We have to be ready to move when he does. It is our only chance. Chief Tyrol, can you get the word out to your union members to start hoarding anything and everything they can get their hands on that we can use as a weapon? Explosives, heavy metals, anything. We need to compile our resources, while appearing to go about business as usual."

"Sure thing, sir." Tyrol looked edgy, pregnant Cally at his side looked downright sick.

"Don't put everything in one place, though, spread it out and get me a record of what it is and where it is. We don't want to be caught with a stockpile, and small caches will be easier to pawn off as regular stock. The most important thing is to find a way to cease any work that will expend these resources unnecessarily." Tigh stared at Tyrol. "How much more time can you buy us with the strike talks?"

"I'll know more tomorrow, at the union meeting." Tyrol took his glasses off, giving them a wipe with the tails of his shirt. "It might be hard to get them organized again, what with all that is going on, but I'll work it out somehow."

Kara piped up, finally, "Be as discreet as possible Chief...all of you. Tigh is right, we need to form a resistance and be ready for the return of the fleet, but we can't afford the possibility of a leak to the Cylons. Tell your men we need to conserve our supplies; that we are hiding them from the Cylons so that they won't be taken away from us. Don't mention weapons, don't mention resistance, not yet. If you hear people talking resistance, talk them down...for now." Tigh caught her eye, approvingly. She continued, "Don't bring anyone into this that you don't trust with your own life, because that is exactly what is at stake here."

Murmurs of assent filled the room, and Kara drifted back into her own mind. Frak! Where was Sam? Everyone kept telling her to wait at home, as that was the most likely place he'd be coming to find her. But she couldn't get the image of the upturned bed out of her head. If he was delirious, he might have done that on his own, but what if...what if.

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Lee did not have time to back to Pegasus. Kat had been briefed on the mission specs, and had been left in charge of the ship for the time being. He'd had a few words with Dee, promising her he'd be careful, promising her he'd be back, but he'd felt the distance between them. He was disconnected, had been for some time, from her, from the fleet, from everything. Life in orbit had been suspended, like everything was just put on hold. Pilots had left, good pilots, people he could not have imagined could have walked away from the fleet...Starbuck. Kara. She had left him and he had stayed, and had become the outsider...again.

He finished dressing. It was going to feel good to fly again. He was reminded of the days, just after the first Cylon attack, when all he knew was flying. It had given him something to hold onto, something to contribute. He had always looked to the military and to flying as more than just a duty, more than just what his father had wanted for him. This was his life, as much a part of him as his heart or his soul. He had lost touch with that for a time, while they were circling New Caprica. But he could feel it waking inside of him again.

While he was still somewhat uneasy about where Sharon Valerii's loyalties lay, they had all been relieved when she had finally consented to go. They needed her to get him onto the surface of the planet. If needs be, he could take it from there. His father had been right, she had resisted at first. They appeared to have no leverage. Even Helo had started to look defeated. Finally the Old Man had sat down in front of Sharon, his voice very soft, his eyes holding hers, "Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. You go, you bring my son back to me alive, and you help us find what is left of our people, and I will give you whatever you want. No tricks. There has to be something left that you want."

She hadn't even blinked. "How can I trust you, after all that has happened?" she asked, her voice flat.

"The same way that I will have to trust you. This is it, Sharon, endgame. We don't do this and those people will die, if they aren't dead already. Tigh, Kara, Cally, Tyrol. All of them are down there. I have nothing to gain from you by lying to you now. Anything you want, if it is in my power to do so, I will see that you have it."

Sharon had turned and stared at Helo for what seemed to be an eternity, studying his face. Finally she looked back at Adama, "I'll do it, but my terms are not negotiable. I'll go, I'll do everything in my power to carry out what you want done on this mission, and I will come back. But once I'm back, I'm done. You will let me go. I want a fully supplied Raptor waiting for me on the Hanger deck, and I want you to let me fly it out of here, alone, with no interference, nobody following me. Those are my terms. Your people for my freedom."

Helo's face had fallen, he reached out to her but she had shrugged him off, refusing to meet his eyes.

Without faltering, Adama simply stated, "done."

Lee met his father on the Hangar deck. Sharon was already climbing into the Heavy Raider, Helo stood solemnly by the door. Adama looked at Lee, concern in his eyes. "You come back to me in one piece, son. I want your word on that."

"I'll do my best, Sir." Once again the two men embraced, quickly. Stepping back, Lee asked "do you really think that we can trust her? Once we get there she might decide that is freedom enough for her. She'll have no reason to come back."

"I really don't know. I was expecting her to ask for that, actually, to be left behind. I was prepared to grant it, but she has given us her word that she will bring you back. I have to trust in that."

Lee's eyes flickered, his jaw tight. "How do we know we can trust her to keep her word?"

"We don't. But we have no choice."


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Wow, thanks for all the support so far. I think I have solved the problem I was having separating the sections...thank you for the suggestions. My files were not uploading properly and I wasn't having any luck editing them. I have made some small adjustments, like in Chapter One referring to Gaius as President Baltar instead of President Gaius. Makes more sense, don't you think? I will be writing more...I have a lot of threads running through my head right now, the hardest part is trying to put them in a cohesive order. I'll do my best. 

Disclaimer: And I still do not own any part of Battlestar Galactica or these fabulous characters. Gods I do love them, though :)

Dark Days

Chapter Four

Kara's whole body ached, both from the cold and from trying to sleep on that hard ground. She had given her bed to Tigh and Ellen the night before, as they had not had a chance to set up their own tent in all of the confusion. Anders was still MIA, and the knot in her stomach had not gone away. Stepping out of the tent into the frigid morning air, Kara looked immediately to the sky. Until yesterday this had been her morning ritual, and she had been comforted by it. She always rose early, before most of the city, took a run around the settlement, and then grabbed her rod and headed to the river to try and catch breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This morning would be no different...the toaster had told them to go about life like nothing had changed. But something had, the security of the routine was gone. The city, normally dead quite at this time of the morning buzzed with activity. Toasters didn't sleep, and neither had most of the settlement, what with the events of the day before. Kara looked up again as a single Heavy Raider soared down towards the city.

"Yeah, because that is exactly what they need...more toasters. Like they didn't have enough already to maintain their frakkin order." she muttered to herself, breaking into her run. "Lords, if you are listening, its me again. I know I was becoming a pest before, but I've done my best to leave you alone lately. I hope that counts for something, because I'm back and I could sure use some help right now..." she paused for a moment, "No? OK, well... I'll just check back in with you later then. I ought to warn you though, I can be a real pain in the ass when I want to be, and I have that on very good authority."

Kara continued along her normal route, heading back towards the Colonial (and now Cylon) ships via the promenade in the center of the city, then swinging back around and running towards the river mouth along the outskirts of the settlement. She would make several laps this morning, as she tried to outrun the tension in her body. She passed just inside several of the new metal boundaries as she ran, and eyed the metallics on patrol.

They seemed not even to notice her as she passed them by. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Apollo let himself relax a little as he and Sharon passed over New Caprica City. The jump had gone well, landing them in orbit around the planet, and the Cylon fleet had ignored them. Sharon had warned him that they might be challenged, and to be prepared to jump away if this happened. So far though, the Cylons seemed completely uninterested in the raider. 

"We should put down close to the city but away from the other ships," he hollered this to Sharon, over the sound of the engines. "There, by the delta. It is close enough to the tents to make a run for it if we have to."

"If we land the ship away from the other raiders, we'll be drawing attention to ourselves." she hollered back to him. 

"I thought that was what I had you for, to deflect any unwanted attention." Lee frowned, as he looked out over the city. "Ok, we'll put it down back there, by that cluster of raiders, but as close to those tents as possible. We need the shortest distance between us and the cover of the city." 

Sharon steered the raider away from the water and back towards the other raiders. While Lee knew enough about the Heavy Raider to make the flight himself, having Sharon at the controls had been another tactical decision. The raider's controls had been torn apart and reconstructed numerous times since it had come into their possession; the brain had been removed for Starbuck's rescue mission to Caprica. After that, Chief Tyrol and the crew had attacked the ship like a giant puzzle, reworking it, making it a viable flying machine for the fleet. Lee had been out it in himself on more than one occasion, but never on a mission. Even with the adjustments that had been made, Sharon seemed to have an innate understanding of the machine. And having her in control of the ship as they entered Cylon occupied territory also added weight to their cover, with the hopes that a Cylon piloting a Cylon vessel would not seem so out of place.

Sharon was looking out over the city as well, puzzled, "You know if I couldn't see the Cylons myself, I'd almost say nothing had happened here. No evidence of a fight, and there are people, humans, walking around freely. At least you know they aren't all dead." She glanced over at Lee.

"Thank the Gods for that!" Lee looked out as well as Sharon positioned the raider for landing. Back on Galactica they had gone over several possible scenarios of what they might encounter when they reached the planet. Even in their best case scenarios, however, all had agreed that they should expect heavy damage and casualties in the city. He was afraid to let himself think too much about what what this might mean for his friends out there, afraid to let himself hope for the best. There had already been too much disappointment in his life. He focused instead on what their next step would be, now that they were on the ground.

The longer they were on the planet the higher the risk of being detected by the Cylons. Even Sharon, Cylon herself, had voiced concern about being discovered. She had betrayed her people to help his more than once, and she did not want to come under close scrutiny by any of them while on the planet. Her face was their ticket onto the planet and off of the ship, but now that they were here, Lee knew they had to keep a low profile. As much as he hated putting so much trust in Sharon, he knew that they had to split up. 

Sharon would do the recon, gathering tactical information on the placement of ships, patrols, etc. She had been given all of the specs available regarding the planet and the city before they had left. Sharon had not been to the planet before, having spent the long months in orbit on Galactica, and most of that time had been spent in her cell. 

Lee's role had been far less defined, and had hinged on their initial survey of the city. The fact that there were still humans, that there was still a city even, meant that he would get the opportunity to search for his people. He needed to find military personnel, needed to find out what measures were being taken here in the city. Any subsequent rescue mission would now depend on how well he could co-ordinate with the people here on the city. He calculated how many people they could get onto the raider on this trip, beside Sharon and himself, it was a handful at best, but it was still more than had let himself anticipate back on Galactica.

"I'm ready when you are," Sharon stated, removing her helmet and bulky flight suit. They had both worn civilian clothes under the suits, and had brought civilian jackets with them, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. Lee followed her lead in this.

"Ok, walk me to the third tent," he pointed down the closest alley. "That should be far enough to get me in, then we'll split up. We've got at most 24 hours down here if we want to have any chance of meeting Galactica and Pegasus at the rendezvous. We'll meet tonight at that same tent at 1830 hours, take stock of what we have gathered by then and we should still have enough time to fill in any gaps that we find."

"And if you aren't there at 1830? If either one of us is caught before we can meet back up, what then?"

Lee turned his head towards her, as they stood by the hatch, about to step out into the city. A few moments of silence ticked by as he locked eyes with her. When he finally spoke his voice was quiet, controlled, "Don't get caught. That is an order."

Her eyes narrowed, "I don't plan to. But if you aren't there at 1830 hours what do you want me to do, Sir?" Sharon all but spat that last word out.

"Find Starbuck."

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"You were right. They are earlier than anticipated but she has brought him back," he said, as they watched the two forms emerging from the Heavy Raider. As Sharon and Lee slipped between the rows of tents, the man turned to the figure beside him. "I must admit that I am surprised. I underestimated Sharon's desire for revenge. It is fascinating."

"It isn't fascinating, it's pathetic. She is filled with rage and can't cope, it is clouding her decisions, and she is going to make a mistake. If she jeopardizes this for us…"

He smiled, looking over at her, the smile not quite reaching his eyes, which remained cold and penetrating, "You give her too much credit. She doesn't have that kind of influence, not anymore. What we are going to do here is more powerful than anything that has ever been done before. It is the Will of God, and he will not let one lost sheep stand in His way."

Her eyes flashed, her face becoming momentarily hard, "Maybe you aren't giving her enough credit, don't underestimate the power of an all consuming emotion. Rage, fear, hate...:

"You're forgetting Love." Came a soft voice from behind them. Doral and the number eight that was Boomer turned at this and greeted Caprica, who smiled happily at Boomer. "Love is everything."

They all looked back out over the city. Boomer's gaze was drawn to the runner who was approaching from the perimeter of the city. Her eyes softened for a moment as she saw the runner's face, recognizing it instantly. Kara. "Yes," she replied, "but that is a lesson that most of them still need to learn."

Doral's smile widened, "They will." 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: sorry for another short chapter...the next one is longer, but not not quite ready yet. I wanted to get this thread started, though, because I thought 5 chapters was way too long to finally get Laura Roslin into the mix...Hope you enjoy.

Dark Days

Chapter Five

Laura Roslin paced up and down the aisle of the empty 'school'. She had not expected many of the children to attend on this day, and she had been correct. Most parents, still in shock from the events of yesterday, had wanted to keep their children close to them. Laura had ended up turning away the handful of children that had made an appearance, sending them home with their mothers. Though still early in the morning, it was a wasted day, education-wise...she could not focus on the lessons. She simply could not bring herself to face discussing the history of the 12 Colonies on a day when it seemed any hope for a future had been extinguished.

Laura had left the small tent she shared with Maya and Isis early that morning, unable to find words to comfort the look of fear in Maya's eyes. In the months following the election, Maya and Laura had grown close. Laura had felt completely displaced after the election, quickly realizing that much of the support that had surrounded her had been based on her role as President, and it had evaporated once she no longer held that position. While she had maintained friendships with Bill Adama, Tory and Dr. Cottle, she had seen less and less of them as the year had drawn on.

She had moved off of Colonial One, the place where she had found comfort and refuge during the long run from the Cylons, and had grudgingly moved to the planet that had cost her the election. Maya had quickly offered to take her in, saying it was the least she could do to repay her for bringing Hera/Isis into her life. Maya's husband had been killed months earlier in an explosion on their ship, and she was happy to have the company. Since then, Laura had come to think of Maya like a daughter, feeling genuine affection for the young woman. And she had been relieved to find a situation that allowed her access to Isis, being one of the only people who knew the child's true heritage. 

A soft voice broke the silence in the tent, "Oh, did Maya and Isis not come in today?" Laura turned to see Cally entering the small school. As her pregnancy had progressed, Cally had started spending more and more time with Maya and the baby, learning what she could about caring for an infant in this environment, trying to prepare herself for the arrival of her own child. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your thoughts, I'll leave you to them...unnnhh..." Cally groaned and clutched the fabric of the door for support.

Laura rushed over, "Cally, what's wrong? Is the baby coming?"

"No, um, I don't...no I don't think so...my water hasn't broken or anything, I've been getting these twinges on and off all night. I don't think they are real contractions..." she said, through clenched teeth. 

Laura reached out to brush Cally's hair off of her face. "My Gods, Cally, you are burning up...how long have you had a fever?"

"I don't know, I feel so light headed...aaahhh..." Cally grabbed her sides, "No, this can't happen today, it is too early..."

Laura's eyes showed her concern, though the soft smile on her face never faltered. "Here, come sit down and try to take deep breaths, I'm going to step outside for just a moment, I have to find someone to send for Dr. Cottle. I'm not going to leave you, Ok?"

Cally nodded, her eyes welling up. It was too soon..., "I need the Chief, can you find him too?"

"Of course, just keep breathing."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She has an infection," Dr. Cottle sighed, a defeated expression lodged on his face, his voice strained by frustration. Tyrol's eyes widened with concern. "It is caused by a bacteria she probably picked up in her food...it isn't the first time I've seen this with pregnancies on this Gods forsaken planet." 

Tyrol had dropped everything when he received Laura's message, and had raced to the school. He had literally carried his pregnant wife back to their tent so the Doctor could examine her. Tyrol had waited in silence, teeth grinding. "Is it serious?" Tyrol asked, his voice shaking, "I mean, will the baby be ok? Will Cally...?"

The doctor took a long and deep breath, glancing at Laura Roslin, who was standing off to the side, trying to keep out of the way. He looked back at Cally and Tyrol, "I'm not going to sugar coat this. The infection would be treatable, if we had any antibiotics, which we don't. The infection poses a high risk of premature birth, which is likely what Cally is experiencing right now. She is in the beginning stages of labor. The baby will be born infected, and without treatment both the baby and Cally will most likely not survive. In her condition, it is doubtful Cally's immune system can fight off the infection on its own. I'm so very sorry."

Cally choked out a small sob, and held her large belly protectively. Tyrol's face paled, his eyes slowly making their way from Dr. Cottle to Cally. He knelt down beside the bed, the back of his hand caressing the side of her face, and opened his mouth to speak...but no words came. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

Laura finally stepped forward, gently touching the doctor's shoulder to get his attention. When he turned, she nodded towards the door of the tent, beckoning him to follow her out. He did so. In a strained hushed tone she addressed him, "Doctor, admittedly I know next to nothing about medicine or science, but I seem to remember you delivering me a similarly grim diagnosis once..." she trailed off, searching for the right words.

"That was a completely different set of circumstances. You know that." Dr Cottle was gruff. Then suddenly, with a flash of understanding he hissed, "It simply is not an option! Not this time! Even if I could explain where I obtained it, there's no way to know if it would even work, or what it would do to that baby!"

"Am I correct in my understanding of what you told Cally and Tyrol? If we do nothing, that baby will die?" Laura held Cottle's eyes with her, her expression unreadable. She needed no response from him, she had understood him perfectly well. "I don't see that we have a choice in this. We have to try."

Cottle swore under his breath. 

Laura smoothed the front of her sweater with her hands, and pulled her shoulders back slightly, strengthening her stance. She tilted her head slightly, as her mind raced. She could do nothing about the Cylon occupation, she could not ease the fear in Maya's eyes, she could not undo the damage that Baltar had done with the decision to colonize, and the decision to surrender. But on this day, she had the power to save Cally and save that baby, she had the means. Despite Cottle's warning, an overwhelming feeling of certainty came over her, and she knew instinctively that it would, indeed work. It was all becoming clear in her mind.

Her voice conveyed her faith in this decision, she spoke slowly but firmly, "We won't tell them what it is. You will tell them you found a small dose of antibiotics, but that you aren't sure if it will be enough. If...when they recover they will have no reason to suspect otherwise."

"And if the baby reacts badly, what then?"

"Then you tell them it wasn't enough, it was a stale batch. We are giving that baby a chance to live, there will be no further debate on this, Doctor."

Cottle gave her a wry smile, "Is that an order 'Madame President'?" he asked sarcastically... but in truth, he was feeling a stirring of hope as well. It might work...

Laura nodded, not reacting to the sarcasm in his voice. "Yes, Doctor, it is. Maya should still be in our tent, she wanted to stay close to home today." 

As the Doctor headed away, walking with purpose, Laura's attention was suddenly drawn to the promenade. Though not nearly as crowded as it would have been on a regular day, a good number of people were milling about, taking in the changes that were happening around them. Laura's attention focused in on one familiar face that was fast approaching her. She caught her breath, her mind racing to understand what his presence could mean.

The man was smiling, happy to have found her. When he reached her, there was a brief, awkward moment as their eyes met, then he grabbed her in a firm, relieved hug. 

Laura broke away first, studying his face, "Lee, my Gods, what are you doing here? They told us the fleet had jumped away, I just assumed you had been with them."

Lee smiled back, "It's a long story, Madame President," using the honorary title that was her right. "But right now I think you have a longer one that I'm just dying to hear." 


	6. Chapter 6

**Note:** Rating has been changed from K+ to T.  
**Disclaimer:** I own no part of Battlestar Galactica or its characters. 

Dark Days

Chapter Six

Kara passed Ellen and the Colonel on her way back to the tent. With a nod, and a flash of her eyes, Kara moved on anxious to see if Anders had returned. The small group that had met last evening had all been given tasks to perform today, Kara's had been recon…to survey the perimeter of the city, her morning run had been the perfect cover, nothing out of the ordinary in that. She would be meeting with Tigh alone at 1100 hours at the foot of the promenade, the nearest thing the tent settlement had to a city center. She would fill him in on what she had seen at that time, right now she needed to eat.

Ha! Kara was not looking forward to the meal. Kicking ass in a Viper she could do, fry up a fish, not so much. She missed Sam, who had taken over most of the culinary duties in the relationship fairly quickly once he had gotten a taste of what Kara had to offer in that department.

Distracted by her thoughts as she entered the tent, she felt as safe in the small space she and Sam shared as she frakkin well could given the circumstances. She would berate herself to no end later for letting her guard down. As she ducked inside, pulling her sweater over her head as she did so, she was grabbed from behind and thrown forcefully across the small space, her head crashing down onto the small iron stove as she landed. It felt like it might quite literally come apart.

"GODS DAMN IT…WHAT THE FRAK?" she spat out. Struggling to focus, Kara spun around, regaining her unsteady feet and found herself eye to eye with a face from the past: Leoben.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you again, Starbuck." Leoben smiled, his voice low, as he took a step back.

Kara's throat constricted, and she shivered at the sound of his voice. "I'm sure!" she gasped sarcastically, putting her hand to her forehead and feeling the warm sting of the gash left behind by the stove. She looked at her hand as she pulled it away, and was surprised at just how much blood there was. Leoben picked up Kara's sweater, which had fallen uselessly to the floor, and tossed it to her. She pressed it tightly to her head, trying to slow the flow of blood. "Can't say that I feel the same way, though…way to say hello, by the way. I take it you made it back to your body after all, then…your 'God' not ready to take your 'soul' just yet? Wow, that must really frakkin suck." Kara tried to be glib as she lowered herself onto the end of the bed, her head pounding , and gave Leoben the best smile she could manage for the moment.

"You aren't really in the position to be pushing my buttons this time. But go ahead if you think it will make you feel better, I might even enjoy watching you try!" With him there was always a glimmer of laughter in his eyes, as though everything that went on around him was designed solely for his own amusement. Kara remembered interrogating him, remembering the uneasy feeling that look had given her, how it had shaken her deeply when he had demonstrated how easily he could take control of the situation. Now, Leoben's eyes bore into Kara, daring her to take it further.

Never one to run from a dare, Kara couldn't stop herself. "At least you've finally come to terms with the fact that you have buttons…any chance you'll point out the off switch for me?"

Leoben was silent as he studied her. "None at all," was his dry response.

"What do you want, Leoben? Why are you here?" Kara decided the direct approach was the best one. She had been referring to the fact that Leoben was in her tent at all, but he answered for everyone.

"All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again, Kara. We are here because we must be here, because every action taken by all involved has brought us here." Kara's eyes never left his face as he slowly knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on the sweater where she had been holding it to her head. He pulled the sweater away and surveyed the damage. "I told you once that you were special, that you were going to find Kobol, and I was right. You would be wise to listen to what I have come to tell you today."

Kara's head was spinning, the blow beginning to take a toll. She remembered what the Old Man had told her about Leoben, how he mixed lies with truth. Yes, they had found Kobol, but it had not lead them to Earth. She had to keep her focus now, not show him any weakness and certainly not let him see what effect his presence had on her.

She forced out another smile, "Don't you toasters ever learn? Humanity created you to make our lives easier…" she nearly laughed out loud at the implications of that, but continued, correcting herself, "we made you to compute. So you can calculate the odds of us stumbling across a planet based on our jump patterns, big frakkin deal. That doesn't make you a prophet." She winced and drew in a breath as he chose that exact moment to press his thumb into her head wound.

"You are going to have to get someone to take a look at that, you might need some stitches." He stayed hunched down in front of her, but rocked back slightly, taking his hands away from her head.

Kara couldn't help but recoil at the sudden movement, and cursed herself for being so jumpy. She had to maintain her composure, look for an opening to get out. She had to keep a level, albeit pounding, head. "Ok, I'll bite. What did you come here to tell me?"

Leoben cocked his head slightly to one side, eyes dancing, "You're married now." It wasn't a question.

Kara's eyes widened, her heart pounding with the sense that her worst fears were about to be realized. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails dug sharply into her palms. Shaking she replied, "And? I didn't need you to come here and tell me that."

"I like him. He's got a lot of fight in him, and I respect that. He reminds me a little bit of you." Kara paled at that. Leoben's expression was unreadable, his eyes locked on hers. He leaned in a little closer, and she could feel hot breath on her cheeks. "I have a secret, Kara. A secret I'm only going to share with you. I already know how you are going to save him, I know the choice you are going to make, and I know what it is going to cost you to make it."

Kara couldn't speak, her breathing had become rapid and shallow and she was having trouble focussing her eyes. She could feel every muscle in her body trembling, as much out of rage as out of fear.

Leoben continued, "I also know something else…I know how you are going to save us. I've always known, and you confirmed it when they blew me out of that airlock. I saw your face Kara, I saw the compassion. Did you pray for me? Did you ask your Gods to take me home? I think you did."

"Let's stop playing the 'I'm-standing-on-the-river-bank-watching-the-stream-roll-by' game," Kara whispered slowly through her tight jaw, finally finding her voice. "Tell me what you've done with Sam, tell me where he is. He is sick, and he needs medicine. He needs to be here with me, and if he dies because you are keeping him away or because you have done something to him, you son of a bitch, then it won't matter how many bodies you have on lay away. I'll kill you over and over and over, and I swear I will enjoy doing it each and every time."

Leoben gave her a patronizing shake of his head. "No, Kara, I'm not ready to give him back to you just yet. He has his role to play in this dance and we have ours, you and I. I want you to know that I'm not going to enjoy what is about to happen, regardless of what you think of me."

ENOUGH! Kara couldn't take it any more. She exploded forward off of the bed, her fist shooting out with all of her body weight backing it up. She made contact with a right hook and an upper cut before Leoben's hand caught her by the throat. She felt her feet lift from the ground momentarily as she was choke slammed BAM! onto her back, all of the air in her body forced out with that one movement. Then Leoben was on top of her, one hand tight to her throat the other raining blows down on her . She held her arms up in front of her as best she could, trying in vain to fend them off, but felt herself quickly losing ground. The fingers on her throat tightened, and her world began to darken. Just before the lights went out, she had the vaguest impression of Leoben's face next to hers, lips brushing hers softly.

Then her world was black.

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Kara dreamed of her wedding day.

She was back on Galactica, time standing still. Admiral Adama had given her his private quarters to get ready, and she was dressed in the borrowed white linen shift that had been scrounged up for her…not exactly a wedding dress, but a much more suitable substitute than her flight suit. She and Anders had been back from Caprica less than a month when he had asked her to marry him. Things had felt so right at the time that she hadn't hesitated to say 'yes'.

Waiting alone in Adama's quarters, she thought about that decision. She had made the same one years before, with Zak. Their future had been laid out before them, and they had made so many plans, thinking that they had all that they would ever need in each other. When she had agreed to marry Zak, she had felt safe and secure, and her answer had been a result of that feeling.

With Anders, she though maybe her answer was based on a desire to recapture that feeling of security. After Zak died, and then after the Cylon attack, Kara had learned to rely first and foremost on herself. She had accepted that relying on someone else, being open enough to have someone matter that much to her, led to pain and inevitable loss. Anders was her second chance to have what she had been robbed of by Zak's death. And it scared her.

So much about Anders mirrored her experiences with Zak, and then again so much of it was different. She had thought she had lost Anders, convinced herself that he had died, and had blamed herself for his death, just as she had with Zak's. She had left Anders on Caprica, she had broken her promise to go back. She had not pushed the matter with President Roslin, and she had lost an opportunity to go back for him when Admiral Cain died. She might not be the one who pulled the trigger, but she convinced herself that she had let him die, which was just as great a sin in her mind. Finding out she was wrong about this had been the catalyst to the changes that took place within her. Her burden of guilt lifted, she was determined to hold onto Anders as tightly as she could, protect him and be with him. He was her second chance, she was not going to let that go.

She paced back and forth by William Adama's desk. He was performing the service. He was also 'giving her away'. Only friends and family were attending…which translated to the Caprica Resistance force on Anders' side and most of the Galactica on Kara's…and the Adamas, of course. Kara had to admit that she was feeling frakkin nervous. She had stood in front of most of these people at one time or another, either in mission briefings or on a table in the mess during a particularly rowdy round of drinking, so she shouldn't feel so self conscious. She kept pacing.

The soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in!" The hatch door swung open and she found herself face to face with Lee Adama.

Closing the door behind him, he gave her a nervous smile. Things had been strained between them lately, distant. She searched for the right thing to say to break the awkward silence that hung between them, but he beat her to the punch. "So..um..I guess this is it, hey? How do you feel? Still want to go through with it?" He gave her one of his half smiles, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. He continued nervously, "I have a raptor ready in the hangar bay if you want to make a run for it, I'll cover for you so you can get a head start."

Kara rewarded his joke with a wide smile. Relieved that the tension between them seemed to have lifted, at least for today, she punched him lightly on the shoulder, "The great and powerful Starbuck runs from no man, Lee Adama. You of all people should have learned that lesson by now." Her smile faltered for a moment as she looked into his big eyes, seeing something there that made her stomach do a flip. "How do I look?" She spun around, giving him a good view of the dress.

"You look…stunning." Lee was quiet, his face serious again. "You really do, Kara. And you look happy."

"Thank you, Lee. I am." Kara felt her eyes welling up, she fought back against the reaction. He reached over and took her hand, pulling it up to his mouth and brushing it softly with a kiss. Kara's eyes searched his for some sign of what he was thinking. "Um…we haven't…I mean we…" Kara stammered, unable to form the thought in her head.

He finished it for her, still holding her hand with a gentle squeeze, "We haven't had a chance to talk about this. I have been so busy on the Pegasus, and what time I've had I've…well, I haven't been around. I meant to see you, though, Kara. I wanted to tell you how happy I am for you."

"Thank you, Lee. I…well, that means more to me than…I wasn't really sure how you were going to react. I didn't know how you would feel about my decision to marry somebody else." She had been thinking of Zak when she said this. One of her biggest fears had been that Lee and Bill Adama would view this as a betrayal of what she had almost been to them: family. But Lee's reaction took her by surprise. His whole expression tightened and his eyes grew dark. Still holding her hand, he stepped towards her slightly.

"I accept that I have no choice."

Kara was stunned at that, and searched for meaning in his face. They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity, and she had no idea what to do next. Nothing seemed like the right course of action, and she was being completely distracted by the feeling of his thumb as it lightly caressed the top of her hand.

Suddenly he let go, and cupped her face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed her lips, softly at first and then with more intensity. Kara froze, her body stiffening momentarily before it developed a mind of its own. Before she even realized she had made the decision, she was kissing him back, her hands coming to rest on his hips. They stayed locked together like that, drinking each other in, until finally Lee pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, eyes closed.

Kara fought to regain rational thought. "Lee, I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't!" He pulled back some more and looked deep into her eyes, his hands were now buried in her hair, still holding onto her. He tilted her face up to his. They were both breathing heavily, and his voice was thick. "Kara, if I asked you not to marry him, would you do it? Would you end it with him?"

She couldn't speak. Everything inside of her finally let loose, and she felt the tears come, unable to fight back against them this time. She tried to close her eyes, tried to retreat, but he shook her slightly, forcing her to look back at him.

The silence was painful. Her throat was almost completely closed, she could barely swallow, she could not breath.

She watched helplessly as his face turned to stone, and he let her go. He had his answer. "I guess I'm the idiot then, after all. Have a good life, Kara. I hope he deserves you." With that, Lee turned and strode out of the room. Kara struggled to regain her composure, sniffing, running her fingers through her tousled hair and straightening out her dress.

Suddenly the light seemed to be draining from the room, and she could hear Lee's voice…when had he come back?

"Kara…"

She tried to speak, tried to answer him, but she couldn't.

"Kara, c'mon you have to be strong…you have to wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she wasn't in Adama's quarters anymore. Squinting against the light and the sudden rush of pain that assaulted her, her eyes slowly came into focus. She was in her bed, on New Caprica. Above her, with a mixture of pain and relief on his face, was Lee Adama.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:** Ok Ok Ok. Calm down. The flashback was necessary, I couldn't just pass over that particular aspect of the missed year by burying it in a momentary reverie…the Lee/Kara shipper in me was way too strong for that. And I needed to build that tension back up…and finally because it was so much fun to write.


	7. Chapter 7

Dark Days

Chapter 7

William Adama surveyed the stacks of logbooks on the table before him, and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He was missing something, and he knew it. He had been pouring over these logs, both from Galactica and from Pegasus ever since Sharon and Lee had left on the recon mission, hoping to find something in their contents that would help him figure out their next step.

In almost all of their dealings with the Cylons, the fleet had fought and run. There were only a handful of occasions where they actually planned and executed an assault. The Pegasus, under Admiral Cain, had done so repeatedly, but always as 'hit and run' attacks, on small cylon contingents, never against the numbers that Adama had seen prior to their jump away from New Caprica. Hit and run wasn't going to cut it this time. He needed to win.

Adama had retreated to his ready room after the Battlestars reached the rendezvous point, leaving CIC in Helo's hands for the moment. There was nothing for them to do now but wait for the raider to return, but he was determined to have a plan of action ready to implement.

It was the not knowing that was getting to him more than anything else. Once he knew the situation on New Caprica, he'd be able to make a plan based on actual data, he'd know what they were facing as far as cylon forces, human survivors. Once Lee was back and safe.

As he had over and over again in the almost 24 hours since the jump from New Caprica, Adama thought about the decision to run. He knew there had been no other choice, they could not have held off an assault of that size, not long enough to evacuate the planet. He knew this in his head, but that didn't make the decision to abandon the planet any easier. He was reminded of the initial Cylon attack, and the decision he'd made then, to abandon the fighting, abandon the 12 colonies, and run with the fleet. It had been hard then, but there had been hope for the future. Now, there were less than 1200 people, if that, left on the ships. If New Caprica was destroyed, with all of those people, then there was nothing left. He would have run again, but this time there would be no hope for a future.

He had food and medicine reserves, he had ammunition and fuel reserves…what he needed was people.

A knock at the hatch interrupted his thoughts. "Come in" he barked.

Lt Dualla entered the room, not meeting his eyes, and stood to attention. "Sir, permission to speak freely, Sir." She had come over in a raptor from the Pegasus, hoping to have a moment alone with Adama. She had been promoted to Lieutenant after the order to colonize had drained the Pegasus of most of its CIC crew.

"Granted, and it is nice to see you too, Dee." Adama gave her a small smile. He was impressed with the young woman. She had remained at her post when the others had left for the surface, and had been eager to learn and to continue with her duties even when those around her had begun to relax about the possibility of a cylon attack. When she had requested the transfer to Pegasus, it had confirmed Adama's suspicions of her relationship with his son, but he had turned a blind eye to this, as he had to so many other personal relationships that developed among the officers and the crew. To date, though, he had not discussed the relationship with Lee or with Dualla. He knew that she must be concerned for Lee, now, though, and wondered if that was what she had come to Galactica to discuss. As it turned out, it wasn't.

"Thank you, Sir." Dualla relaxed, relief on her face. Her voice was a little bit shaky when she started to speak again, this time looking him straight in the eyes. "Sir, I've been trying to get Captain Katraine to come talk to you about something, but she refuses. She says that you have everything under control and don't need interruptions from us, which I'm sure you do, or I mean, don't…I mean I know you have the situation under control, but I think there is something that you should be considering." Dualla was nervous, and it showed. But she spoke with conviction.

"So, then, I take it Captain Katraine didn't authorize your trip to Galactica?" Adama studied her face, his expression not giving anything away about what he was thinking.

"Um…No, sir, she did not. I told the hangar crew it was an authorized trip, and managed to get one of the pilots to bring me over. I take full responsibility, Sir, it was not his fault."

"Well then, this must be something important for you to have circumvented the chain of command. I'm all ears, Lt Dualla." Adama leaned forward in his seat, motioning for Dualla to take a seat across from him. His face betrayed his fatigue. He had not slept since the jump, could not sleep. His mind was racing too much for that.

Dee had been frustrated by Kat's refusal to hear her out on the idea forming in her head. Kat was taking her 'command' of the Pegasus very seriously, and was focussed on performing the task at hand to perfection. In Dee's mind, that shouldn't have taken much effort. The task at hand was watching and waiting. Lee would have heard her out.

What she had come to discuss with Adama wasn't so much her own idea as it was an extension of a question that was being whispered throughout the Pegasus crew. Part of her figured Adama had probably already had the same thought, and didn't need her to bring it to his attention, but she felt she had to make sure. "Sir, have you given any consideration to returning to the Colonies?"

Adama leaned forward, his face serious. "You mean back to Caprica? Many times. I've had several discussions with President Baltar about the feasibility of going back to gather supplies. When Cloud 9 was destroyed, most of our agricultural resources were destroyed with it. We toyed with the thought of going back many times."

"But?"

"But the risks we would be placing on the fleet and the planet always outweighed the benefits. We seemed to have the advantage of the Cylons not knowing about the existence of New Caprica. We only had the word of a Cylon that the occupation of the Colonies was over. We couldn't risk giving away our position, leading them right to us."

"But we no longer have that advantage, sir. And we no longer have that risk." He frowned, again taking in the piles of logs on the table in front of him.

"No, we don't."

She continued, speaking quickly, wanting to get it all out before he shut her down. "Sir, the resistance survived the Cylon occupation on Caprica. According to Starbuck and Anders the Cylons left the planet before they did. It is possible, if there were other survivors that they could have survived the past year with anti-radiation meds. If they survived the occupation, then there could still be people alive back there. And I don't just mean on Caprica, I mean on all of the Colonies…Tauron, Aerelon, Gemenon…there could still be survivors back there."

There was silence as Adama considered these points. "There are a lot of 'ifs' there, Lieutenant." He took a deep breath, still holding her eyes with his. He did need people…. "For right now, we're going to wait for Lee and Sharon. Once we know what is happening on New Caprica, we'll be in a better position to start making plans."

"So you'll consider it?"

"I will, Lt. Dualla. Now you better get back to Pegasus before Captain Katraine starts proceeding to have you court martialled." He smiled, as he rounded the table. With his hand at her back, he led her to the door. "It isn't a bad idea, Lieutenant, we just have so much to get through first, before we can even think about going back to the Colonies."

Although she was disappointed, Dualla was also relieved to have gotten this off of her chest. With a salute, she left the ready room.

Adama surveyed the room. No, it wasn't a bad idea. He did need people, if he wanted any chance of going up against the Cylons. But there was no more guarantee that anyone had survived on the Colonies than there was that they had survived on New Caprica. And his first concern had to be New Caprica.

Sitting back down, he reached for another log, and jumped back into the reading. He needed Lee to come back in one piece, needed to know what was happening on the planet. Then he'd decide what to do next.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaius Baltar was at a complete loss.

Moments earlier he had been reading over the new code of 'laws' given to him by the Boomer cylon that morning, and discussing the ramifications of these laws with Caprica. The laws were extremely restrictive. They regulated food rations, implemented mandatory work schedules and severely cut down freedom of mobility. The colonists were already restricted within the city, but these rules would impose a strict curfew and limit the number of people who could gather in one place at one time.

He felt the discussion was going very well. Caprica, in fact, even conceded he had a point about why it was going to be hard for the colonists to accept some of these restrictions. He let himself relax a little bit, thinking that this new arrangement might not be so bad after all, in fact it might be preferable to his presidency.

As president he'd quickly found that every group and faction wanted to have a piece of him, nagging him with pedestrian concerns, and not giving him a moments peace. He started thinking that the people were incapable of making one single decision without him. Under the cylons, he thought he could retain most of the power while handing over the burden of responsibility to them. They could make all of the decisions, and enforce them, and he could be their liaison and advisor.

Yes, indeed. This was a much better arrangement, and he didn't have to deal with Adama or the military any longer. From what he could tell, Caprica and Boomer held a place of some prominence amongst the cylons. As long as he had Caprica, he had power.

Which is why his conversation with Caprica about the laws had been such a relief to him. She had already demonstrated the utter control she could exert over his body, not that he was complaining. But he was gratified to have evidence that she would listen to him regarding matters of governing the colony. She paced around Gaius' office, finally sitting on the sofa while they went over each point. Playfully, she had opened her knees from time to time, giving him a peek at what was under her skirt, trying to distract him from his thoughts, quite effectively he might add.

She was speaking, her voice sultry as always, "The religion directive has to stand, Gaius. The people have to give up their old, tired Gods, and embrace the one true God."

No longer even trying to hide his frustration, he tossed the papers in his hand down on the desk and pushed his chair back, "You can't hope to convince them to give up the basis of their civilization, the Lords of Kobol, through legislation. Even if the law goes into effect, it would be impossible to enforce, you'd just be forcing their religion underground. You'd be better off introducing your God to them in small doses, give them a chance to accept the idea."

Religion was one of the two points that Caprica seemed reluctant to back down on. That and enforced reproduction, which would entail every female in the settlement be subjected to heavily monitored fertility treatments. The cylons were not implementing forcible impregnations at this point, but they were going to orchestrate a higher rate of reproduction. Gaius hadn't even started on that point yet, thinking that outlawing the colonial religion would be a much easier battle.

"Do you really believe they'll willingly accept it under any circumstances, Gaius? By making it law, they will have to accept it, and then they will see that it is the better way."

"By making it law, you are practically guaranteeing they won't, on principal. By giving them the opportunity to learn about your religion, you might stand a chance of swaying them. Why not start by gathering the clergy together and trying to work out some sort of parallel religions services, first."

She considered it, with a look of admiration on her face. Yes, Gaius was feeling rather good about himself and the situation he now found himself in.

It had all been going so well.

Until the door to the office swung open without warning and Caprica walked into the room.

His eyes darted from the blond in the doorway to the sofa only to find that the Caprica he'd been gaining so much ground with was gone. He'd been in negotiations with his own hallucination.

Stunned, and feeling as though the room was spinning out of control, he whipped his head back to Caprica, the flesh and bone Caprica who was gazing at him intensely, and stammered, "Oh! Well, I…um…but you…"

Boomer followed Caprica into the office.

"Who were you talking to, Gaius?" Caprica asked, a confused smile on her face as she settled on the sofa, almost in the exact spot that had been occupied by the Six in his head moments earlier.

Catching his breath, he tried to regain his focus."I, um…I was just thinking out loud, really. I've been going over these laws, and I had a couple of points I thought might be helpful, some suggestions on how you might want to change a few points." He was going to have to start all over again.

Boomer's expression didn't change as she simply replied, "There will be no changes. Have those distributed to the colonists. They are to be put into effect immediately."

Without warning Six was at his side, the Six in his head, a sly grin on her face as she leaned over and whispered in his ear, her eyes never leaving Boomer and Caprica. "This is going to be interesting."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I feel it necessary to preface the rest of this story with the following: I have no idea about what is going to happen in Season 3. I don't know any of the writers, producers, cast, etc from the show. I have purposely avoided reading about Season 3 because I do not like 'knowing' what is going to happen before it does...I just like making it up in my head. I know as much (if not less) than the rest of you. SO. If anything even remotely like what I have written in 'Dark Days' happens in season 3 it is purely coincidental. All I have done is try to imagine what might come next, based on what has come before.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from Battlestar Galactica

Dark Days

Chapter Eight

Laura left Lee Adama with Colonel Tigh. Having filled him in on what little she knew about the Cylon occupation, and the current situation, she was slowly making her way back to Cally and Tyrol's tent, trying to bring the fragments of her shattered reality back together in her mind, trying to form some cohesive picture of the world around her.

Everywhere she looked she saw Cylons. One or two of the human variety, but mostly metallic centurions. They stood along the promenade, they walked between the tents, they watched the colonists as they tried to go about their day. The bile in her throat burned, as she remembered the long months of fear and loss, all caused by these creatures...strike that, these machines. She knew the disgust she felt was evident on her face.

For months after the election, Laura had walked around feeling numb, anesthetized. Never having to face the feeling of helplessness shared by so many in the fleet, always having some degree of control over the decisions made, had left her ill equipped to cope with the complete hopelessness of watching the wrong decisions being made by Gaius Baltar. Of being unable to fix what she so clearly saw as that which was broken.

Now, she trembled with rage. She should have fought harder to convince Bill not to go public about the election fix. She should have refused the demand for an election in the first place. She should have screamed 'traitor' as loud and as long as she could after she'd remembered seeing Baltar with the cylon on Caprica. She should have...but she hadn't. Instead she had stepped aside and watched as the pieces broke apart, as the future slipped further and further away from them all. Walking back to Cally and Tyrol, Laura made a decision. She'd learned so much about how to lead these people, and had ample time to review her mistakes. She'd been standing aside for too long now.

She'd heard Colonel Tigh being to fill Apollo in on their plans to organize a resistance, to prepare for the return of the fleet, for a rescue. They would need someone, a person who was not military and had a different perspective, who had ties with the Quorum, and who could help spread information and influence. She was still Laura Roslin, former President of the Colonies. She wanted to be that person.

"Just give her the frakkin medicine, damn it!" Tyrol's voice boomed inside the tent, as Laura approached. Pulling the flap aside, she surveyed the tense scene. Cally's labour was in full swing, the sweat beading off of her forehead. She was looking even weaker than she had two hours earlier, her eyes almost lost in the dark rings that formed around them.

"Doctor?" She could see the syringe in his hand, and wondered what had Tyrol so agitated. The news of the 'medicine' should have calmed him, given him some hope where before there had been none.

Dr. Cottle turned to her and grimaced, obviously frustrated that he was going to have to repeat himself . "I've already explained this to the Chief. She's too close to having that baby right now. There's no guarantee that this is even going to work, it is such a small dose. I'm not sure there's even for both of them." Glancing over at the pregnant woman, he explained, "And Cally won't let me administer the dose to her. I explained that the baby might not get the full effects of the medicine if it is born before the dose is carried through her system. Her labour is going faster than I would have expected for a first time mother. Now she is insisting that we wait and give the baby what it needs after it is born"

Cally added, through clenched teeth, "I'll take what ever is left after the baby is safe...I'll be fine..." she let out another growl as pain racked her body. Tyrol dropped back down on the bed, at her side, looking defeated.

_Not enough?_ Confused, Laura shot a questioning look back at the Doctor. He sighed deeply and walked over to her. "I took as much as I could..." he was referring to the blood sample he'd taken from Isis. He'd been doing tests regularly, monitoring the child's progress, so it had been easy enough to explain to Maya what he was doing. As far as she was concerned all of the babies were receiving the same attention, as part of an initiative to detect and eliminate any possible complications. Babies were too precious a commodity in this new world to risk losing them to sickness and disease. "Laura, they came and took Maya and Isis away, I didn't have time to take more." He kept this last part as quiet as he could.

Still, it was like a shot slamming into her diaphragm, pushing all of her air out. "What?" she gasped. "Who took them"

"Cylons. Frakkin bastards. Three metallics and a man I've never seen before...called himself 'Simon'. Said all of the babies were being brought to Colonial One for inspection and to be counted. Damned creepy if you ask me"

Laura closed her eyes, reeling. She'd left them alone. Maya must be frantic right now. "If you'll excuse me Doctor, I have to find them. I'll bring Isis to you as soon as I can, make do with what you have for now. Gods, is there no end to this?" The name Simon had sent a shock through her. She knew the name, she'd read Starbuck's report on the baby farms on Caprica. The cylon fascination with reproduction was terrifying, but what had Laura's heart pounding was the fear of Isis being anywhere near a cylon. If they ever discovered that baby...she refused to let herself think about what ramifications that discovery would hold.

"I'll take care of them, Madame President." There was no sarcasm in the Doctor's voice this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee had not been worried as he waited with Tigh, not even when the Colonel himself started acting a little bit antsy. "It isn't like Starbuck to be late, not with what is at stake here…something must have happened." Tigh had looked around nervously. It was already more than half an hour past their agreed upon meeting time.

But Lee had not softened. It was exactly like Kara, he thought. It was exactly what she had become best at: living according to her own needs, her own rules. Even when she'd still been on Galactica she had bucked the system whenever it had suited her, why would this be any different. "Maybe she found Anders…" Between Tigh and Laura Roslin, Lee had been brought up to speed on what was happening on the planet, including Anders' disappearing act.

"Apollo, it's long past time the two of you worked this out. If we're going to get our collective asses out of this frakked up situation, we're going to need everyone working from the same game plan. Its been a long time since you've been in the sky with Starbuck, but the two of you were unstoppable when you worked together. Even I'm man enough to admit that." Tigh had some idea about what had come between the two pilots, as did most of the people who knew them. Anyone familiar with the Adama family history knew Kara's special place in Lee and Bill Adama's hearts. And he'd seen the distance grow between these two ever since Anders' arrival.

Lee shrugged, his face giving nothing away. He knew that Tigh was right, they needed her. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Kara would have to show up before he had to decide how he was going to work with her.

It was only after he started to notice what was happening in the promenade that he began to worry. A large group of women and children had been gathered, were still being gathered together and were being led up the promenade towards the cylon ships at the head of the city. As Lee watched, he could see more and more women being brought to the crowd, accompanied by cylons.

_Women and children._ Lee flashed on the horror story that Kara had told him about what she'd seen at the Farm on Caprica. They'd been drinking, and she told the story with her typical bravado, but he'd known she was holding something back. There had been real pain in her eyes. At the time he'd given her the space hold back whatever it was that she'd been holding back. Now he wished he knew, wished he had pushed her harder. In truth he wished she had trusted him enough to let it out. His voice was tight, "We have to find her. Now"

Tigh nodded in agreement, and led the way.

That was how the two men came to find Kara Thrace lying in a seemingly lifeless heap in her tent. For what had seemed like the longest moments of his life, Lee believed her to be dead. It was only as the laboured sounds of her breathing penetrated his panic that he realized he had been holding his own breath. Dropping to his knees beside her, he carefully brushed the hair off of her face.

"Dear Gods!" Tigh whispered beside him.

The Gods had nothing to do with this, Lee thought, the heat of the rage inside of him quickly replacing the icy panic that had gripped him moments earlier. "Help me get her onto the bed"

Tigh managed to find water and a washcloth, and Lee used these to clean Kara up. As he washed the dirt and specks of blood from her face and arms, he surveyed the damage. She'd sustained several blows to her head, dark bruises already beginning to form on her face. He could also see the blackening outline of a hand on her throat. But she was breathing, and as he ran his hands over her arms, hands, and face, he could find no obvious evidence of broken bones.  
Frak! How long had she been lying here while he had cursed her for being late to the meeting. Maybe if they had come looking for her a few minutes earlier…

"Had to be the cylons. Mother frakkers!" Tigh was stating the obvious, pacing back and forth.

Lee's jaw twitched. "Go find Hot Dog and the others. Keep your meeting with them, and find out what the frak is going on with the women and children. I'll stay with her." His eyes never left Kara. "We have a lot to figure out, and I feel like we're flying blind. We need to know what it happening out there, what the others have found out. Bring them back here. I have to meet Sharon at 18:30, but I'm not going to leave Kara here alone"

"I'll be back before then." Tigh was reluctant to leave, but both men knew they didn't have much time to co-ordinate a plan, they had to move forward. He hovered for a moment beside Kara, "Starbuck, you always did pick the most damned inconvenient times to duck out. I expect to see you up and in fighting form when I get back!" The strain in his voice betrayed the emotion he was feeling. Nodding at Lee, Tigh slipped out of the tent.

And then they were alone. Lee kept the cool washcloth against Kara's swelling cheekbone, whispering to her as he did so, urging her to wake up. How had they gotten here? How had so much gone wrong so quickly? He reeled at the doubts that were swelling up inside of him. He could hear the sounds of cylons outside the tent, filling the city. He could hear rushed and panicked whispers of people as they passed by the tent. He could not wrap his head around the ramifications of what was happening. He focused on Kara instead.

Relief washed over him when she finally stirred, letting out a low groan, a tear squeezing out from under her fluttering eyelids. "Kara…" his voice was low. He held her hand in his, cursing once again the toaster that had done this to her. When he found out who…

"Kara, c'mon you have to be strong…you have to wake up"

Her eyes opened, and he could see her struggling to focus on him, panic and pain settling simultaneously into her conscious mind. Suddenly her whole body tensed, and Kara tried to sit up.

"Frak me!" she winced and lowered herself back onto the bed. "Lee, what the frak are you doing here?" Her voice was a cracked whisper.

She sounded weak but she sounded like Starbuck, so he let himself relax a little bit more. He choked back the things he really wanted to tell her. How sorry he was that he'd let his hurt come between them, that he'd just let her walk away from Galactica and from him. That he wanted to gather her close to him and hold her, keep her safe, and that he wanted her to need him. Instead he attempted to comfort her with a wry, crooked smile. "I'm here to save your ass, as usual. What happened to you, anyway"

Shifting uncomfortably on her bed, Kara's hands flew to her throat, remembering. She closed her eyes, and Lee watched helplessly as her face registered the pain of the memories. "Oh Gods…Sam. Lee, the frakkers have Sam. I've got to get out there…" She started to roll off of the bed, trying to get to her feet. Lee gently pushed down on her shoulder, rolling her back onto the bed.

"No you don't, you're going to stay right where you are." Kara wasn't pushing back, he realized. That could only mean that she was in even more pain than even he realized. "Now slow down and tell me what happened"

She held his gaze. Keeping her voice as steady as possible she sighed and started, "It was Leoben. He was waiting for me when I came back." Lee fought for control as she filled him in. She gave him all of the details up to the point where she blacked out, about their conversation, about the fight. "I thought that he was killing me, Lee, at the end, I really did. Gods, for a moment I was almost relieved…" She closed her eyes again, shutting him out, shutting the pain out.

"What do you think he meant when he said you were going to save them"

"I think he's full of shit, that's what I think. Leoben fraks with your mind, that is what he's good at. He did it to me before, made me believe I was destined to play a part in finding earth. Told me I'd find Kobol. He's just playing another mind game." She gratefully accepted a cup of water from Lee.

Lee turned that thought over and over in his mind. The cylons were here for a reason, and if he could figure out what that was then he'd be a lot closer to finding a way to undermine them, closer to finding a way to defeat them. "He might be frakking with us, but he sought you out, he took Sam and he came after you. Why? I mean why bother? Let's face it, they've won. What kind of help could he possibly want from you"

"I don't know, Lee, maybe he's just getting his kicks. Maybe he gets his jollies finding new and interesting ways to screw with my head. What does it matter why"

_It just might_, he thought to himself. He watched her as she wiggled all of her fingers in front of her face, and stretched out her arms, testing the extent of her injuries. "How do you feel now"

She gave a sarcastic laugh. "Fine. I'll be fine. I don't think anything's broken…except maybe my head. How do you feel about sewing me up so we can get on with this 'rescue'…I have what used to pass as a med kit over there by the stove, not much left in it now but I think there's still a needle and thread, maybe even a bandage"

Lee retrieved the kit and set to work on her head. He worked quietly for a few minutes, but finally he said, in a quiet voice, "Kara, I…" he didn't even know where to start. He'd been separated from her physically and emotionally for months now, but the past 24 hours had changed everything. "I know that things between ushave been"

She stopped him there. "Don't. Not now. I can't handle this discussion right now, Lee. I have to focus on Sam, on the cylons." She pleaded with him with her eyes.

He stared back at her. "Ok, but I have to know one thing. Do you think we can work together, despite everything?" Hell, did he think they could? "Can we be Apollo and Starbuck again"

She smiled sadly, taking his hand in hers. "We've always been Apollo and Starbuck, Lee. That hasn't changed. And if I had to choose one person to be on this planet with me, fighting next to me, it would be you…you know that. When we're done kicking cylon ass, if you still want…well if you are still interested…" her voice faltered as she met his gaze, "If you still want to have the other 'talk' then I'll be there, ready to talk"

He sighed, and nodded his understanding.

She closed her eyes, falling back down onto the pillows. "Now explain to me again what you're doing here. I thought you were on Galactica"

And for the third time that day, he explained the recon mission. When he was done he knew he had to fill her in on the most recent development with the cylons. "Kara, there is one more thing. The cylons appear to be gathering up women and children. They were taking a large group of them somewhere earlier, I don't really know much more than that"

Kara froze and went pale, her eyes filled with renewed panic. Lee watched her fighting to control her fear, and his heart broke for her again.

"Tell me how we're going to do it Lee…tell me how we're going to kill those mother frakkers"


	9. Chapter 9

Dark Days 

Chapter Nine

Sam shivered beneath the pile of blankets, his aching body unable to find even a moments comfort. Each breath causing stabbing pains to shoot through his chest and back, a low rumbling coming from deep inside his lungs. His eyes, hot and watery, still could not focus properly, but he could make out the female form sitting next to him on the cot.

She was damping down his head with a cool cloth, and he could see a soft smirk formed on her steely face. He recognized her immediately as one of the cylons. He racked his fevered brain trying to place her, a fuzzy memory forming as he focussed on her voice, which sent chills straight through him, it was so cold.

"Ah, I see you are with us once again Mr…Anders? Am I right?" Her expression made it clear that she knew exactly who he was. That voice…

The memory was slow in forming, but finally it did come into focus…the explosion, on Caprica. He'd been caught, thought it was the end of the line for him, but the other two cylons had turned on this one, saving him in the process.

She leaned in very close, and he turned his face away from her.

"How're you feeling? To tell you the truth, you aren't looking well at all. I really wish there was something I could give you, you know, to make it all better." Her eyes told him otherwise. She was enjoying his pain.

"Where am I?" he croaked, looking around. He realized he was not in a tent, which narrowed down the options considerably. He had to be on one of the ships, but nothing looked familiar to him. It looked almost like a cargo hold, but none that he had encountered in the fleet before.

"Doesn't matter, you won't be here very long." She stood up and walked over to a communication console on the wall nearest the cot. "I'm D'anna, by the way. If you need anything just holler…I'm at your beck and call." She laughed a short, harsh little laugh, and started punching numbers on the console.

Sam was finding it harder and harder to breath, and his heart was racing. He tried to remember how he'd gotten here, but was drawing a blank. He did remember being back in his own tent, seeing the cylon leaning over him, asking for Kara. He'd known immediately that the man was a cylon, having seen copies of him repeatedly on Caprica. But that was the last thing he could remember before waking up in this place. Now he tried to make sense of what this meant. The two of them had to be plants within the fleet, but why were they making a move now? And why him? His head was spinning.

He didn't need to wait long for an answer. D'anna was speaking to someone through the communications console. "Yeah, he's conscious for the moment…but he doesn't look good. I don't know how long we can keep him that way." Her voice was shaky, he realized. Gone was the menacing tone she had directed at him.

A male voice came through the intercom, in response. "It doesn't matter, we've made contact with Starbuck, she knows we have him, so it won't be long. Just try to keep him alive for a few more hours, that should be long enough."

"You're putting a lot of faith into that human." She spat the last word out, as though it left a foul taste in her mouth, banging her fist against the metal of the wall.

"Just keep him there until we come for him. And try not to do too much more damage."

Sam's fevered mind was racing, nothing was making sense. Were they after Kara? Did they think that he would help them get to her? Suddenly it was coming clear for Sam.

"I'm bait. That's it, isn't it. You are trying to get to Kara and you think you can do that through me."

D'anna walked back to his bedside. "Pretty and brains, too."

"I don't know what you're after, but Kara isn't going to help you. She'd rather see me dead than help you do anything to hurt the fleet." At least he hoped she would.

"Not exactly up to her this time, sport. Starbuck doesn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. You see, your fleet is gone and New Caprica belongs to us, for now at least. Starbuck is going to be given an opportunity that she, of all people, isn't going to be able to pass up." She sat slowly back down beside him, picking up the damp cloth and wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "You've been out for almost 24 hours, you've missed a lot. We've all had quite a day."

Sam listened in horror as D'anna explained the cylon invasion of New Caprica. She paced the room as she spoke, and Sam watched her movements as much as listened to her words. Perhaps it was the fever, or maybe he was overwhelmed with what was happening, but he had a strange sensation come over him as he watched her move. It was like watching a caged animal in a zoo. It dawned on him that she looked more like a prisoner than he was.

"So if what you are telling me is true, what do you need Kara and I for? Sounds to me like you've already won."

She spun around, plastering a smile across her icy face. "Oh, we've won, no question. That was only a matter of time."

"Fine, then why am I here?" It just didn't make sense to him. Unless it was personal, unless they wanted to torture him and Kara for fighting them on Caprica…but then there were so many others who had fought as well…why single them out? Something was out of place. He tried to lift himself up off the bed, to face her from a stronger position, and immediately regretted it as the room started to spin before him. He fell back again.

"Let's just say while there's no doubt we are going to win, there is still some room for debate over the proper time and place. You and your lovely wife are still of some use to us. A fact for which you should be grateful, because it is the one and only reason you, my friend, are still breathing."

Sam tried to think of a smart ass comment to show her just how grateful he was, but found that the room would just not stop spinning. In the moments before he lost consciousness again, he focussed his thoughts on Kara, willing her to stay safe, and see through whatever trap was being set for her.

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Sharon had been waiting by the tent for almost half an hour. Although it was only just 18:30, and technically Apollo wasn't late yet, she was starting to get pissed off. She'd done what was asked of her, had scouted the city and the cylons making mental note of numbers and positioning. She'd even gone a step farther than that. She'd gone back to the raider and linked into their communications channel, uploading as much information as she could about the New Caprica Occupation.

It was all easy…too easy. Even now, standing by the tents, Sharon had the unnerving feeling that she was being watched. She had not felt anything probing at her consciousness, did not suspect that she had been detected. She had not been challenged, not once in the hours that she had patrolled the city. And that was as strange to her as anything else. There was something different about the cylons, something off. They were playing a game for which she had not been given the rules, and she didn't like the feeling.

She felt like they were letting her walk around freely, gather the information. Almost like they were putting their tactical data out there for her to find, all that was missing was the gift wrap and the bow. That was it, it was too easy, and that made it hard for her to trust.

Her eyes darted around, scanning the perimeter of the city, taking in the cylon patrol of the city's border, and the crowd of people gathered at the head of the promenade. This whole place made her skin crawl. She was almost glad that she'd been kept on Galactica, never allowed to come to the surface. Something about this planet was off, almost sinister. Everything inside of Sharon was screaming to get off, to jump in the raider and fly away before it was too late. Where was Apollo?

"Sharon?"

She jumped slightly at the voice coming from inside the tent. She placed it immediately, it was one of the Doral models.

"Don't turn around, just listen to me very carefully. We've been monitoring you since you flew the raider in this morning. You haven't been challenged, and you won't be challenged. We just want to talk to you, that's all."

It had all been too easy. She took a deep breath, wondering if she even cared at this point that their mission had been discovered, that once again she had been played, by both sides of this frakkin war. She was just so tired of it all. There had been a time when she's cared, truly cared, but she was beyond that now. She was just numb.

"Why bother letting us think we were undetected? What was the point?" Sharon's voice was flat.

"We don't want Apollo or the others to know we are watching, not yet. We want them to act as they would normally, we need them to play this out a little bit longer." Doral remained inside the tent, but his voice sounded like his mouth was at her ear, so close.

"What are you going to do with them, with me? How long do you plan on letting this ridiculous game play on?" What were they going to do with her? It didn't even matter. She had longed for death for months, but that was the cruellest joke of all…she couldn't die. She would just download into another body. That sweet release that humans all feared, she craved - and she was denied. The best she could hope for was to be boxed, and even that held no promise of peace, only an interruption of this existence that would seem like the blink of an eye if and when she was ever reactivated. Nothing was ever going to change.

"The raider will be allowed to leave, with as many people as it can carry. The numbers are not significant enough to warrant opposition at this time. We need the raider to get back to Galactica and the rest of the fleet, we need to show them that it is safe for them to return. We aren't looking for a fight, and we hope that you will convince Admiral Adama of that fact."

"Ha!" she barked out the laugh. "You obviously haven't been plugging into my consciousness very often. I haven't been able to convince Adama of anything lately. .." she paused again, closing her eyes. "They killed my baby. Did you know that?"

Doral was silent for a moment behind the flap of the tent. "We knew the baby had died. Gina told us when she downloaded. They have done so much damage, and they continue to cause so much pain even now that they have seen their worlds destroyed…don't you see, Sharon, that's why they need us…"

"Oh I see the need, I just don't think it will do any good anymore. I used to believe….Shhh…Apollo's coming." She kicked at the dirt, trying to look bored.

"We'll find you again, before you leave." She could hear a rustling inside the tent, and then it was silent, and she knew he was gone.

She turned to greet Apollo, plastering what passed for a smile across her face, and cringing inwardly at the thought of having to be near any of them.

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End file.
